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(CNN)President Barack Obama encouraged Americans Monday to give President-elect Donald Trump some time to get adjusted to the responsibilities of the presidency.

But in his first news conference since last week's stunning election results, Obama warned that some of Trump's expectations will soon be shaken up by the gravity of the job.

Obama said he was certain after meeting Trump last week that his successor and longtime political foe was "sincere" about being president for all Americans but also called on the President-elect to reach out to people who felt anxious after the explosive rhetoric of the campaign, including women and minorities.

"I don't think he is ideological, I think ultimately he is pragmatic in that way and that can serve him well as long as he has got good people around him and he has a good sense of direction," Obama said.

Obama appeared before reporters before leaving the United States on the last scheduled foreign trip of his presidency, to Greece, Germany and Peru. It takes place with many of Obama's subordinates and liberals across the nation still barely able to believe he will be succeeded by Trump, whose volatile character and taboo-busting rhetoric could hardly strike a more overt contrast to the current president.

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Obama said he told Trump that his election achievement in tapping into the enthusiasm of his voters was impressive.

"I think he is coming to this office with fewer set hard and fast policy prescriptions than a lot of other presidents might be arriving with. Do I have concerns? Absolutely, of course I've got concerns. He and I differ on a whole bunch of issues," Obama added.

Obama dodged an opportunity to comment on the appointment of firebrand polemicist Stephen Bannon as Trump's senior White House policy adviser, who has been vigorously criticized as a leading member of the alt-right nationalist movement.

Obama said it would not be appropriate for him to weigh in on all of Trump's appointments because it would be incompatible to his desire to provide a smooth transition of power to his successor.

"I think it is important for us to let him make his decisions. The American people will judge over the course of the next couple of years whether they like what they see," Obama said.

He added: "This office has a way of waking you up. Those aspects of his positions or his predispositions that don't match up with reality, he will find shaken up pretty quick because reality has a way of asserting itself."

Photos:100 moments from Obama's presidency

Photos:100 moments from Obama's presidency

Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on January 20, 2009. Click through the gallery to see 100 moments from his administration.

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Photos:100 moments from Obama's presidency

The Obamas share a moment on a freight elevator as they head to one of the inaugural balls on January 20, 2009. "It was quite chilly, so the President removed his tuxedo jacket and put it over the shoulders of his wife," White House photographer Pete Souza said. "Then they had a semi-private moment as staff members and Secret Service agents tried not to look."

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Photos:100 moments from Obama's presidency

Obama wears 3-D glasses during a Super Bowl viewing at the White House on February 1, 2009.

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Obama speaks with aides in the White House Oval Office on February 4, 2009. From left are Senior Advisor Pete Rouse, White House Director of Legislative Affairs Phil Schiliro, Senior Advisor David Axelrod, National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

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Vice President Joe Biden watches Obama sign the economic stimulus bill on February 17, 2009. The goal was to stimulate the country's staggering economy by increasing federal spending and cutting taxes.

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Obama acknowledges applause before addressing a joint session of Congress for the first time on February 24, 2009. The President focused on the three priorities of the budget he presented to Congress later in the week: energy, health care and education.

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A boy touches Obama's hair in the Oval Office on May 8, 2009. "A temporary White House staffer, Carlton Philadelphia, brought his family to the Oval Office for a farewell photo with President Obama," White House photographer Pete Souza said. "Carlton's son softly told the President he had just gotten a haircut like President Obama, and asked if he could feel the President's head to see if it felt the same as his."

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Obama kisses Sonia Sotomayor after announcing her as a Supreme Court nominee on Tuesday, May 26. Sotomayor went on to become the court's first Hispanic justice.

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The President returns to the Oval Office after going on a hamburger run for West Wing staffers and aides on May 29, 2009.

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Obama closes his eyes before taping his weekly radio address at the White House on June 2, 2009.

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Obama tours the Great Pyramid and Sphinx in Giza, Egypt, on June 4, 2009. In a speech at Cairo University, Obama pledged to "seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world," imploring America and the Islamic world to drop their suspicions of one another and forge new alliances.

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Obama places a flower at the Buchenwald Memorial as he visits the former concentration camp in Germany on June 5, 2009.

Obama stands on stage before delivering remarks to service members in Jacksonville, Florida, on October 26, 2009. "Of all the privileges I have as President, I have no greater honor than serving as your commander in chief," Obama said in his speech.

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Obama salutes during the dignified transfer of Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin on October 29, 2009. The President traveled to an Air Force base in Dover, Delaware, to meet a plane carrying the bodies of 18 Americans killed in Afghanistan.

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The President fist-bumps custodian Lawrence Lipscomb in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on December 3, 2009.

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Obama poses with a diploma and gold medal after accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, on December 10, 2009. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it honored Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." Obama was the fourth U.S. President to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Jimmy Carter also received the award.

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The President talks on a cell phone as he steps off Marine One in Baltimore on January 29, 2010.

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Obama plays with his daughters in the White House Rose Garden during a snowstorm on February 6, 2010.

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Obama calls a member of Congress to discuss health care reform on March 19, 2010. A bill passed the Senate in December 2009, but there were intense negotiations before it could pass the House. The bill passed 219-212 after more than a year of bitter partisan debate. All 178 Republicans opposed it, along with 34 Democrats.

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Obama signs the Affordable Care Act -- his health care overhaul -- on March 23, 2010. It was the biggest expansion of health care guarantees in more than four decades, and it represented a significant step toward the goal of universal coverage, which has been sought by every Democratic President since Harry Truman.

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Obama takes the stage on a rainy day outside of Chicago on May 31, 2010. He was scheduled to give a Memorial Day speech. "When the lightning began, the Secret Service told the President that it was too dangerous to proceed," White House photographer Pete Souza said. "He took the stage by himself and informed the audience that his speech was canceled and that for everyone's safety, they should return to their buses. Later, he boarded a few of the buses to thank them for attending and apologized for not being able to speak."

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Obama takes questions at the G-20 Summit in Toronto on June 27, 2010. "We came to Toronto with three specific goals: to make sure the global (economic) recovery is strong and durable; to continue reforming the financial system; and to address the range of global issues that affect our prosperity and security. And we made progress in each of these areas," Obama said.

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The President puts his toe on a scale as White House travel director Marvin Nicholson tries to weigh himself in Austin, Texas, on August 8, 2010.

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Obama hosted a working dinner with Mideast leaders on September 1, 2010. With Obama, from left, are Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II. Obama said he was "cautiously hopeful" that talks could achieve a two-state solution to the long-running Mideast conflict.

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Obama shoots baskets before speaking at Cleveland State University on October 31, 2010.

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The President greets U.S. troops after an unannounced flight to Afghanistan on December 3, 2010. The U.S. combat mission ended in Afghanistan in December 2014, but American troops remain in the country to support Afghan forces and counterterrorism operations.

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Obama prays in the Oval Office with co-chairs of the National Prayer Breakfast on January 27, 2011. From left are U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, U.S. Rep. Tom Coburn, U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, Obama, former Arizona Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick and U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor.

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The first family tours the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on March 19, 2011. Obama visited Brazil, Chile and El Salvador during his trip to Latin America.

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Obama talks with Vice President Joe Biden after a teleconference call about Libya on April 5, 2011. Obama committed U.S. forces to the U.N.-authorized mission in Libya, and he told the American people there were strategic and moral reasons to act. Failure to do so, he said, would have allowed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to unleash his military on his own people.

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Obama and members of his national security team monitor the mission against Osama bin Laden on May 1, 2011. "Fourteen people crammed into the room, the President sitting in a folding chair on the corner of the table's head," said CNN's Peter Bergen as he relived the bin Laden raid five years later. "They sat in this room until the SEALs returned to Afghanistan." (Editor's note: The classified document in front of Hillary Clinton was obscured by the White House.)

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Obama and the first lady enjoy a glass of Guinness as they visit his ancestral home of Moneygall, Ireland, on May 23, 2011. Moneygall is believed to be the birthplace of one of his great-great-great grandfathers.

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Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron play table tennis with students in London on May 24, 2011.

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During his state visit to England, Obama was also able to meet with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. The first couple gave the queen a handmade leather-bound album with rare memorabilia and photographs that highlighted the visit by her parents -- King George VI and Queen Elizabeth -- to the United States in 1939. To Prince Philip, they gave a custom-made set of pony bits and shanks and a set of horseshoes worn by a recently retired champion carriage horse. The Obamas were given copies of letters in the royal archives from a number of U.S. presidents to Queen Victoria. Michelle Obama also was given an antique broach in the form of roses made of gold and red coral.

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Obama greets Hugh Hills, 85, in front of Hills' tornado-damaged home in Joplin, Missouri, on May 29, 2011. It was the deadliest tornado to hit American soil since the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1950. Nearly 160 people were killed.

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Obama talks backstage with Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett before a reception in Philadelphia on June 30, 2011.

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Obama shakes the prosthetic hand of Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry on July 12, 2011. Petry was at the White House to receive the Medal of Honor. The Army Ranger lost his hand while tossing an enemy grenade away from fellow soldiers in Afghanistan.

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Obama does pushups on the White House basketball court after a member of the Harlem Globetrotters made a shot on April 9, 2012.

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During an event on April 18, 2012, Obama looks out of the famous Rosa Parks bus that was restored by the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. "I just sat in there for a moment and pondered the courage and tenacity that is part of our very recent history but is also part of that long line of folks who sometimes are nameless, oftentimes didn't make the history books, but who constantly insisted on their dignity, their share of the American dream," the President said.

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Obama congratulates cadets as they receive their diplomas from the U.S. Air Force Academy on May 23, 2012.

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The Obamas take in the Chicago skyline on June 15, 2012. The Obamas lived in Chicago before he was President, and they still own a home there.

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Obama faces off with Mitt Romney at a presidential debate in Hempstead, New York, on October 16, 2012. Obama was re-elected with 332 electoral votes to Romney's 206.

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Obama pretends to be caught in Spider-Man's web as he interacts with Nicholas Tamarin, 3, just outside the Oval Office on October 26, 2012. Nicholas, son of White House aide Nate Tamarin, had been out trick-or-treating. "The President told me that this was his favorite picture of the year when he saw it hanging in the West Wing a couple of weeks later," White House photographer Pete Souza said.

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Obama takes the oath of office during his swearing-in ceremony on January 21, 2013. He is the 17th President to win a second term.

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Obama kisses his wife during the inaugural parade in Washington. Sasha, left, takes a photo of her sister, Malia.

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The President takes a tour of the ancient city of Petra during a visit to Jordan on March 23, 2013. He was accompanied by a University of Jordan tourism professor, and all other visitors kept well away -- except for a few stray cats.

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Obama and four former U.S. Presidents attend the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center and Museum on April 25, 2013. From left are Obama, Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter.

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Obama looks to see if it's still raining at a White House news conference on May 16, 2013.

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Obama takes a photo with a sleeping boy at the White House during a Father's Day ice cream social on June 14, 2013.

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Obama and the first lady tour an old slave house on Senegal's Goree Island on June 27, 2013. It was part of a three-nation tour in Africa. "For an African-American -- and an African-American President -- to be able to visit this site, I think (it) gives me even greater motivation in terms of the defense of human rights around the world," Obama said.

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Bo, one of the Obamas' dogs, hangs out in the Outer Oval Office as the President begins his day on November 6, 2013. "Each morning, the President always enters through this door rather than the direct outside door to the Oval Office," White House photographer Pete Souza said.

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Advisers Ben Rhodes, left, and Tony Blinken show their approval as Obama discusses Iran negotiations with Secretary of State John Kerry on November 23, 2013. Two years later, after arduous talks that spanned 20 months, negotiators reached a landmark deal aimed at reining in Iran's nuclear program. The essential idea behind the deal is that in exchange for limits on its nuclear activities, Iran would get relief from sanctions while being allowed to continue its atomic program for peaceful purposes.

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Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron pose for a selfie with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt during Nelson Mandela's memorial service in Johannesburg on December 10, 2013. Some thought it was tasteless, considering the occasion.

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Obama tosses a football in the Oval Office on January 6, 2014.

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Obama greets locals in Phoenix after touring a model home of a nonprofit's housing development on January 8, 2014.

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Obama works on his computer aboard Air Force One on February 19, 2014.

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Aides laugh as the President swats a fly in the Oval Office on May 6, 2014.

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Obama slides across a counter to pose with staff members at a Shake Shack restaurant in Washington on May 16, 2014. Vice President Joe Biden, lower right, also did the same. "The President normally does a group photo with restaurant staff when he stops for lunch or dinner," White House Photographer Pete Souza said.

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Obama, center, walks with the parents of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl after making a statement about Bergdahl's release on May 31, 2014. Bergdahl had been held captive in Afghanistan for nearly five years, and the Taliban released him in exchange for five U.S.-held prisoners.

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The President sits for a 3-D-printed bust being produced by the Smithsonian Institution on June 9, 2014. See the final product from the White House Maker Faire, which highlighted the importance of 3-D printing and other technologies that help people design and build new things.

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Obama tries out a driving simulator July 15, 2014, as he tours the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia. The simulator was meant to demonstrate the types of "smart" vehicles being developed at the center.

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The President delivers a statement on the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 18, 2014. The St. Louis suburb was in turmoil after Darren Wilson, a white police officer, fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager. "Ours is a nation of laws: of citizens who live under them and for the citizens who enforce them," Obama said. "So, to a community in Ferguson that is rightly hurting and looking for answers, let me call once again for us to seek some understanding rather than simply holler at each other. Let's seek to heal rather than to wound each other."

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Obama leaves the White House briefing room after speaking about various topics on August 28, 2014. But the reaction on Twitter was largely focused on his rarely worn tan suit.

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Obama visits Stonehenge on September 5, 2014. White House photographer Pete Souza recalled that day: "We were at the NATO summit in Wales when someone mentioned to the President that Stonehenge wasn't that far away. 'Let's go,' he said. So when the summit ended, we took a slight detour on the way back to Air Force One."

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Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington on September 30, 2014.

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Obama hugs Ebola survivor Nina Pham in the Oval Office on October 24, 2014. Pham, one of two Dallas nurses diagnosed with the virus, was declared Ebola-free after being treated at a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. The other nurse, Amber Vinson, was treated in Atlanta and also declared Ebola-free.

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The President walks along the White House Colonnade on January 22, 2015.

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Obama delivers remarks at the Edmund Pettis Bridge on the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," when marchers were brutally beaten in Selma, Alabama, as they demonstrated for voting rights in 1965.

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Obama poses with the world's fastest man, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, at an event in Kingston, Jamaica, on April 9, 2015.

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Obama's wave aligns with a rainbow as he boards Air Force One in Kingston, Jamaica, on April 9, 2015.

Obama says goodbye to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi from a West Wing hallway on April 29, 2015.

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The President speaks at a White House event that recognized emerging global entrepreneurs on May 11, 2015.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks with Obama near the Bavarian Alps on June 8, 2015. Obama and other world leaders were in Germany for the annual G-7 Summit. "Merkel asked the leaders and outreach guests to make their way to a bench for a group photograph," White House Photographer Pete Souza said. "The President happened to sit down first, followed closely by the Chancellor. I only had time to make a couple of frames before the background was cluttered with other people."

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Obama takes a photo with the "Racing Presidents" of the Washington Nationals baseball team on June 11, 2015. The mascots, which race at every Nationals home game, represent former U.S. Presidents -- from left, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. "The President asked the Secret Service to stop the motorcade when he spotted The Racing Presidents," White House Photographer Pete Souza said.

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Obama sings "Amazing Grace" during services honoring the life of South Carolina state Sen. Clementa Pinckney on June 26, 2015. Pinckney was one of nine people killed in a church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.

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Obama greets audience members after speaking in Nairobi, Kenya, on July 26, 2015. He was making his first visit to his father's homeland as commander in chief.

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The President and first lady escort Pope Francis back inside the White House after an arrival ceremony on September 23, 2015. The Pope was on a six-day visit of the United States that also scheduled stops in New York and Philadelphia.

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Obama was playing golf in La Jolla, California, where a wedding ceremony was about to begin on October 11, 2015. "The bride and groom were waiting inside, but when they looked out the window and saw the President, they decided to make their way outside," White House photographer Pete Souza said. Souza sent a copy of the photograph to the couple, Brian and Stephanie Tobe. "Both wrote back to me that they were extremely grateful to have the President 'crash' their wedding."

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Obama holds Ella Rhodes, daughter of Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, in the Oval Office on October 30, 2015. She was wearing an elephant costume for a Halloween event at the White House.

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Comedian Jerry Seinfeld knocks on the Oval Office window December 7, 2015, during a taping of his series "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee." The two drove around the White House in a 1963 Corvette Stingray, drank coffee and talked politics in the episode.

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The President and the first lady meet R2-D2 and a stormtrooper for a White House screening of the new "Star Wars" movie on December 18, 2015.

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Obama cries as he talks about the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting during a White House news conference on January 5, 2016. "Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad," he said, referring to the 2012 massacre that killed 26 people in Connecticut. Obama, calling for a national "sense of urgency," unveiled a series of executive actions on guns, including expanded background checks.

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The Obamas greet Virginia McLaurin, 106, before a White House reception celebrating African-American History Month on February 18, 2016. McLaurin was so excited that she started dancing, and the video went viral.

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Obama walks past House Speaker Paul Ryan in Washington during a St. Patrick's Day lunch with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny on March 15, 2016.

Obama, left, and first lady Michelle Obama, right, tango with dancers during a state dinner in Buenos Aires on March 23, 2016.

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The Obamas read a book to children at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on March 28, 2016. The Easter Egg Roll has been a White House tradition since 1878, when President Rutherford B. Hayes allowed children to roll eggs on the South Lawn.

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Obama and his daughter Malia walk down the steps of Air Force One after arriving in Chicago on April 7, 2016. She will be attending Harvard University after taking a gap year, the White House announced in May.

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Obama talks with Britain's Prince William, right, as William's wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, plays with their son, Prince George, on April 22, 2016. The President and his wife were visiting Kensington Palace in London.

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Obama tests virtual-reality goggles during a trade fair in Hanover, Germany, on April 25, 2016.

The President arrives in the White House briefing room to deliver remarks on June 23, 2016. The Supreme Court had announced that day that it was evenly divided in a case concerning Obama's executive actions on immigration reform.

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Obama hugs his daughter Malia at the White House Fourth of July party in 2016. She was celebrating her 18th birthday during the party, which included musicians Janelle Monae and Kendrick Lamar.

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The Obamas sit next to former U.S. President George W. Bush at a memorial service in Dallas for the five police officers who were killed during a protest on July 7, 2016. Obama said that the nation mourned along with Dallas, but he implored Americans not to give in to despair or the fear that "the center might not hold."

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Obama hugs Hillary Clinton after speaking at the Democratic National Convention on July 27, 2016. "I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman -- not me, not Bill, nobody -- more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America," Obama said.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Obama at the G-20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, on September 5, 2016. Obama, who had a 90-minute session with Putin, said their talk was "candid, blunt and businesslike," and included the issues of cyberintrusions and the Syrian conflict.

Obama shakes hands with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office on November 10, 2016. "My No. 1 priority in the next two months is to try to facilitate a transition that ensures our President-elect is successful," Obama said after meeting with Trump for about 90 minutes.

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Obama and the first lady leave the stage after the President's farewell address in Chicago on January 10, 2017. During his speech, Obama recounted a presidency that saw setbacks as well as successes. Admitting candidly that political discourse has soured under his watch, Obama demanded that Americans renew efforts at reconciliation. "It falls to each of us to be those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy," he said. "To embrace the joyous task we've been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours."

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Obama was repeatedly pressed about Trump's temperament, which he had criticized extensively during the campaign.

"There are going to be certain elements of his temperament that will not serve him well unless he recognizes them and corrects them," Obama said, pointing out the impact that a comment from a US president that is not accurate can have around the world.

"I think he recognizes that this is different," he said.

Affirms US commitment to NATO

Obama also said Monday that the United States would remain the world's "indispensable" power and that Trump had told him he was committed to NATO.

"In my conversations with the President-elect, he expressed a great interest in maintaining our core strategic relationships," Obama said, adding that he had a message from Trump to pass on to world leaders he will meet this week. "One of the messages I will be able to deliver is his commitment to NATO and the transatlantic alliance."

The President said that there were many diplomatic, military and humanitarian levers of US power that made America the indispensable nation in the world and that status would continue.

"There is no weakening of resolve when it comes to maintaining a strong and robust NATO relationship," Obama said.

Transition

Obama had hoped to be handing the reins to a fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, yet is now preparing the way for Trump, a man for whom he has harbored personal and political animosity, and who has pledged to tear up his legacy as quickly as possible.

Obama, who met Trump in the White House for 90 minutes Thursday, stressed to reporters the importance of a smooth transition process, similar to the one he was offered by former President George W. Bush.

He said the most important point he made to Trump was the importance of setting up a proficient staffing structure, including the chief of staff, national security adviser and White House counsel.

"I hope it was useful," Obama said. "I hope that he appreciated that advice."

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He said he told Trump that "gestures matter" and how he reaches out to groups that did not support him were important.

"I think it is important to give him the room and the space to do that, it takes time," Obama said.

Trump may be in more need of assistance than other recent presidential election winners, considering he has no experience whatsoever of governing yet is about to take on what may be the world's toughest job.

Some White House staffers were surprised by the businessman's rudimentary grasp of White House operations but say they will work to get the new administration up to speed before January 20.

Officials described Trump's visit as a wake-up call of sorts, revealing the work to be done with the new White House staff before Trump is sworn in.

Obama argued Monday that despite there being some "deeply disaffected" people, the country he will turn over to Trump is in better shape than it was in when he took office in 2009, amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

He said that economic indicators including unemployment were as healthy as they had been in years, and despite challenges in the Middle East, the US was in a strong position against ISIS.